STUDY: ‘Cultivated’ meat likely to be widely accepted by general public, especially younger generations
In the US and the UK, an average of 77% of Gen X and 74% of Boomers were open to trying cultivated meat, in comparison to 85% of Millennials, and 89% of Gen Z.
OLIVER MORRISON: Lab-grown meat will be a ‘significant’ part of peoples’ future diets, the Isreali cultured meat start-up Aleph Farms has claimed after its study revealed ‘compelling’ support among young UK and US consumers.
The research, published by the journal Foods, showed patterns of greater openness to trying such products by younger generational groups: 87-89% of Gen Z adults, 84-85% of Millennials, 76-77% of Gen X, and 70-74% of older baby boomers were at least somewhat open to trying cultivated meat.
The majority of 2,018 US and 2,034 UK consumers surveyed were not familiar with cultivated meat, yet upon being presented with a description of it, the respondents, on average, imagined that cultivated meat could make up about 40% of their future meat intake, with conventional meat constituting around 60%.
Aleph Farms claimed that 40% of consumers said they were ‘very’ or ‘extremely likely’ to try cultivated meat in both the US and the UK. Among these, 98-99% of them said they would consider welcoming it as a regular item in their shopping basket. The vast majority of this group were omnivores (94-95%) who consume meat 2-3 times per day in a typical week… In the US and the UK, an average of 77% of Gen X and 74% of Boomers were open to trying it, in comparison to 85% of Millennials, and 89% of Gen Z.
The findings further showed that consumers preferred the terms ‘cultured’ and ‘cultivated’ over ‘cell-based’ and ‘cell-cultured’ for use in a social context and on packages, even though they perceived these terms as less descriptive. The participants preferred non-GM products over GM products. The study also found that US consumers prefer nutritionally superior meat over nutritionally equivalent meat…
“The results suggest that cultivated meat is likely to be widely accepted by the general public, especially the younger generations and an eager group of early adopters who appreciate its benefits across a wide range of social issues. These groups tend to embrace change and need little encouragement to try new food innovations,” noted Szejda, Ph.D., Founder and Principal Research Scientist of North Mountain Consulting Group, who led the research…
No cell-based meat product has yet to apply for a Novel Foods Application in Europe. How can the company therefore be confident consumers will regularly buy these types of products if and when they’re available? Aleph Farms Co-Founder and CEO Didier Toubia told FoodNavigator the company’s vision is to provide a better alternative to industrial livestock farming, which represents approximately 70% of global meat production today, by focusing on developing ‘quality products’…
He further claimed cultivated meat can reach price parity with conventional meat ‘within a few years from full launch’ as the most expensive inputs in the cultivated meat production process — the non-animal proteins incorporated in the growth medium used to feed the cells – which are currently produced in very small quantities (if at all) and in pharma grade will be more widely available. SOURCE…
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